Abusing IP: the story behind one studio’s Portal 2 ARG adventure

Dejobaan Games had three titles in Valve's Potato Sack bundle, and …

Valve's Potato Sack bundle on Steam turned out to be brilliant marketing for both the included independent games and Portal 2, but how did it all come together? We spoke with Leo Jaitley from Dejobaan Games, the developer behindthree of the games included in the Potato Sack, about how they came to be included in the bundle, what it was like creating the new content, and how much money was made off the promotion.

What's clear is that while there are many companies that want to do something like this as a promotional stunt for an upcoming game, very few companies could pull it off, with so many different developers, products, and new pieces of content being juggled in an organized fashion. Let's see how it all came together.

Wanna come discuss an ARG for Portal 2?

The invitation sounded informal, and at that point the only thing Valve wanted was a chance to talk about its plans for Portal 2 promotion. "The impression we got is that they contacted indies who had proven that they could collaborate with other Indies and get the job done," Jaitley told Ars. "They seemed less less focused on who had sold the most games, as opposed to a proven commitment to develop good games and willingness to collaborate with Valve and the other teams." The games involved would not only have to be sold at a discount, but new content would have to be created, and developers would need to interact with fans to keep the alternate-reality game moving.

For the new content, Valve was happy to turn over one of its most popular characters: GLaDOS, as well as the voice actor who brought the character to life. The pressure was on to create something that did justice to the concept, and the work was described as being "some of the toughest work done all year, possibly in years," but it also proved highly rewarding. "The amazing thing is how cool Valve was about this. With most publishers, you have to sign ten pages of paperwork just to sit down and have a drink with them," he explained. "Valve sat us down, pointed out the fact that there were no hidden cameras, lawyers, or NDAs, and showed us what they were thinking. They had us play through what existed of Portal 2, and then just had us go crazy."

Valve has a much looser corporate culture than many companies of such a large size, and Dejobaan took advantage of the opportunity to play in Valve's sandbox. "One of the coolest things about the process was Valve letting us blatantly (ab)use their IP," Jaitley told Ars. The developers were able to place portals in games, they were given access to Valve's textures and assets from the game, and Dejobaan even recorded a new version of "Still Alive" to use in a new level created for the promotion.

Alive and Kicking

The different developers communicated with Valve and each other through e-mail and Wikis, and Valve proved to be an agile, willing partner when it came to designing the game. Jaitley said someone asked if Gabe Newell himself could begin e-mailing images to the press, and that quickly became part of the game.

In a side note, when I first began getting e-mails about the game, I responded asking for more information, and was sent this response from Mr. Newell. I have preserved the typographical errors:

I am out scik

For general issues, e-mail [removed]@valvesoftware.com. For marketing or press issues, e-mail [removed]@valvesoftware.com. To complain about HL-2 Ep 3 taking too long, email [removed]@valvesoftware.com. To complain about L4D2 not taking long enough, email [removed]@valvesoftware.com.

I have removed the e-mail addresses due to your anger over the listed issues, but it was still good for a chuckle.

So what did everyone get out of it?

"Without getting into specifics, the sales did very well for us and will put us in a good position to deliver better games and more content on existing projects," Jaitley said when I asked about the payoff of being included in the bundle. (The three Dejobaan titles included were 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! [Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby], AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!—A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, and The Wonderful End of the World). Jaitley likened it to being able to keep a roof over their heads while forcing them to wait on the sports cars.

There was also a large amount of trust put in Valve. "It is worth noting that most studios got involved knowing that there was likely to be some payoff, but without anything upfront or any promises of riches," Jaitley explained. "Essentially, we all jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Valve and be part of the Portal 2 launch because we figured only good things could come from it! Valve for its part worked hard to help make it worthwhile for us and the gamers, so we are thankful that they picked us."

Jaitley talked about the positive, recharging effects of being part of such a creative and free atmosphere, and it's clear that everyone involved had a good time working with Valve. "Also, I don't think the exposure will hurt," he told Ars, in what has to be a major understatement.

In the end, everyone won

While there was some backlash over how the game concluded, in the end a number of games were given a higher profile, and Valve had everyone in the industry talking about the promotional stunt. This happened due to the Valve's ability to operate quickly, gain the trust of its partners, and give the trust needed to have other personalities use assets and characters from what could be one of the biggest releases of the year.